Professor Peter Higgs broadcast footage

This footage - shot in February 2012 and copyright the University of Edinburgh - is of Professor Peter Higgs, theoretical physicist and recipient of the Edinburgh Award 2011.

It is intended for media outlets, who should note that this material is embargoed until 18:00 GMT on Friday 24 February 2012. Media should also note that there is a smaller thumbnail file, which sits alongside this file.

The footage shows Professor Higgs having casts of his hands taken at a stonemasons in Edinburgh, the city which he has called home for more than 50 years. These casts will be used to create a sculpture that will sit in the quadrangle outside Edinburgh City Chambers.

In his interview, Professor Higgs says it is an honour to receive the Edinburgh Award 2011, of how he came to the Scottish capital for the first time in 1948 and how his early work at the University of Edinburgh laid the foundations for his most famous piece of research, concerning the Higgs boson. He also explains what it might mean to him, should scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) discover the existence of the Higgs boson.

There is also an interview with Dr Alan Walker, a physicist who worked alongside Professor Higgs for many years. He explains both the importance of Professor Higgs' work and details how some of the scientists now searching for the Higgs boson at CERN in Switzerland were taught by Professor Higgs at Edinburgh.

The Higgs boson is an important component of the Standard Model of particle physics that helps explain how objects have mass.

Following nominations from the public, Professor Higgs was chosen as the winner of the 2011 Edinburgh Award by a judging panel chaired by the Lord Provost, with representatives from all political groups on the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council and Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

The four previous winners of the Edinburgh Award are judoist George Kerr, writer Ian Rankin, author JK Rowling and cyclist Sir Chris Hoy.

Caption details as follows:

"Professor Peter Higgs
University of Edinburgh"

"Dr Alan Walker
University of Edinburgh"

From 06:38 onwards, the footage is courtesy of CERN and should be acknowledged as such with an on-screen credit.